{un/compliant}

2006/11/23

Rosario Tijeras

Rosario Tijeras is, hands-down, one of the best movies about Colombia kicking around today. The namesake of the movie is Rosario Tijeras ("Rosario Scissors"), a femme fatale that worked for the drug kingpins of Medellín during the late 80's. The movie is a rather faithful representation of the many aspects of life in Colombia, its irony and ultimate tragedy. Rosario, however, is a character whose work as an assassin and prostitute for the drug cartels enables her to move seamlessly between the many planes of life in the country, and following her enables the audience to get a very interesting glimpse at a full cross-section of Colombian society; from the magnificent houses of its rich elite to the Dickensian slums around its cities, Rosario knows them all, and none get the best of her.

I could write quite a bit about the main character, Rosario; or about her two suitors, the confident although vain Emilio and shy and noble Antonio. One would assume that Antonio's role is to play sidekick to Emilio's rumptuous adventures with Medellín's hottest women, but the movie shows how, in the end, it is Antonio's reliable, affectionate and noble nature which wins the day and gives Rosario what no-one in her life had ever given her - love with no strings attached, a love that has no conditions and which expects very little or nothing in return.

Watch this movie. Watch it for the character development, for the plot. Watch it for the historical context, to see the many aspects of life in a foreign country as told by its own inhabitants. But above all, watch it to see how the story of Rosario, Antonio and Emilio's ultimately impossible love unfurls. Which is no surprise - after all, as Rosario herself puts it, "amar es más difícil que matar" ("to love is more difficult than to kill"). Highly recommended, Rosario Tijeras.

2006/11/22

Snakes on a Plane!

No blood for coke!

No, this is not what you think. Studies based on a new methodology that compares the downstream and upstream concentrations of a compound resulting from the digestion of cocaine from the human body around major metropolitan centres show that cocaine consumption is much higher than previously thought in major cities in the West. Certainly,

For example in New York, IBMP teams searched the Hudson River and found the by-products of a projected cocaine consumption totaling 16.4 tons per year. There are approximately 3.4 million people aged 15 to 65 living in the Hudson's watershed. According to the United Nations "World Drug Report," 2.8 percent of Americans in this age group use cocaine at least once a year. That would mean that about 95,000 people are responsible for an annual consumption of 16.4 tons of pure cocaine -- a per capita rate of 172 grams per year.

The real question is, should we have to bear the social costs associated with this habit? Why should Colombian children be born with horrible mutations following the cropdusting of large swathes of jungle territory using insane quantities of Round-Up? Why should the Colombian government have to dedicate significant amounts of its limited resources to the fight against drug trafficking, when the demand for the cocaine and heroin produced in the country is so unbelievably high and tremendously inelastic?

I don't think we should be footing the bill for the West's cocaine habit, I'm sorry. Legalize this shit now.

2006/11/21

The Fountain

Tonight I was lucky enough to take a "sneak peek" at The Fountain, the latest movie starring Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz directed by Darran Aronofsky, also known for jewels such as Pi and Requiem for a Dream, amongst others.

The Fountain is quite simply, a visual spectacle. A love story spanning thousands of years; a man struggling to safeguard the woman he loves from an inevitable death by all means possible, through all time, against all odds. There's a scene in what appears to be La Alhambra in Spain involving Rachel Weisz as the Queen of Spain and Jackman as a Spanish conquistador which is especially deserving of praise. The movie intertwines Mayan and Christian mythology in a very interesting way, so if you're into legends and fantasy this movie will strike a chord with you.

My only problem is the premise. I'm skeptical about the whole theme of the undying love, the silly concept of the soulmate, the kindred soul and all that Valentine Day's nonsense that forms the cornerstone of the movie. Love is an arbitrary thing, it comes and goes and is quite easily beaten down by the circumstances. I see how a man could go great lenghts for a woman he wants, but I don't see how that would lead anywhere, especially given the cold rationality of women everywhere.

Then again, it makes for great movie material, so my recommendation is: go see this movie. Even better - go see it with your girlfriend. And when it's done, sneer at her and say something like: "Pff. Dumbass. He should've just moved on". You are guaranteed to score confidence points after that.

Time-periodic thumping

I am just curious. I hear a constant thumping sound from the back of my room in Gage, but I am just unsure of what its source may be. I think it might be people having sex in the room next door, but it happens so often and is so constant that I am having a hard time believing that.

Somehow, I think that little jewels like those are what I will finally miss the most when I do leave the residence hall for good sometime soon. Kudos and hats off to you, my brave neighbour. You go, dude. Reach for the sky.